ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
“The relays’ relocation of was just one of the many areas of work highlighted in the DTA electrical load survey, and one of the clear ‘quick wins’ for the Trust.”
Looking at the wider network He continued: “Once we had completed the relay relocation, we began looking at the wider electrical upgrades required, using a ProCure22 scheme to partner with our Preferred Supply Chain Partner, Kier, who won the contract. We initiated a brand-new design process. Kier brought in a different consulting engineer, CAD 21, who took the DTA report and developed it into a working design. Kier also partnered with Geoffrey Robinson, a local electrical contractor, who managed all the electrical upgrades and switchboard replacements. We developed and designed the scheme throughout the first seven months of 2018. Key elements included looking at the switchboard and transformer manufacturers, working out how we were going to bring switchboards onto site, looking at cable routes, and negotiating with Northern Powergrid and Newcastle University on external HV cable routes.”
A shortage of electrical personnel Andy Fairless explained that the Trust’s Estates & Facilities team had extensive involvement in the project. He said: “Unfortunately, I only had two Electrical Estates officers at the time, and they both left part way through the scheme, so I ended up having to get involved with quite a few shutdowns and isolations
myself. We hired an external resource to look after the electrical work and help day to day, through Geoffrey Robinson. The company supplied an electrical engineer, Mark Collins, who is still with us today, employed by the Trust. Great credit must go also to our former assistant Estates officer, Jake Marshall, who we took on secondment for the project. He then ran the scheme day to day from the Trust side for virtually its entire duration. He is now a full-time Specialist Engineering manager (Electrical) on my team.” He continued: “Working with the Trust’s Estates team, Kier, CAD 21, and Geoffrey Robinson, we collaborated to draw up detailed plans for the electrical upgrade work. However, our original budget allocation was nowhere near the £6 m cost identified. I had to approach the Trust’s Capital Management Group, and explain why we needed the money. I argued, successfully, that if we didn’t do this work, we would jeopardise the entire site’s resilience, and that as things were electrically, there was no realistic prospect of future expansion. The existing Leazes Wing switchboard was at its capacity, and no longer had any room for expansion, so we were unable to provide any additional power supplies.”
Most of the next year taken up Once the Estates team had agreement to start the work, in September 2018, Andy Fairless and his colleagues spent most of the next 15 months on the project, including being on site ‘most Saturdays and Sundays’. He explained: “We had 10
high voltage transformers to replace, with the majority of that work undertaken by Geoffrey Robinson and IUS (Integrated Utility Services), my high voltage specialist authorised HV maintenance company. There were three HV transformers to replace in the Dental Hospital; three in the Leazes Wing; two in the ancillary block, and two in the Claremont Wing. We also changed the oil- filled HV switchgear to vacuum. Throwing the proverbial ‘spanner in the works’, we had a high voltage switchgear fail during the project on the HV Pharmacy switchgear. We lost the SF6 gas on the HV ring main unit serving the pharmacy, and, as an extra piece of unplanned work, had to remove and replace the unit. Simultaneously, we had HV switching activities occurring elsewhere on site, so it was challenging to ensure that we didn’t impact on patient services.”
Careful planning minimised impact In fact, Andy Fairless explained, careful planning ensured that there was no unplanned impact on patient services or clinical activity throughout the project. He added: “Replacing the oil-filled switches simply meant racking them down, plus a little modification for protection on the HV, but in the Leazes Wing, we removed the existing switchboard and replaced it with three new ones, to give us sufficient added electrical capacity and resilience.” A local switchboard manufacturer, LPC Switchgear, supplied the replacement switchboards. “Working with LPC, Kier, and Geoffrey Robinson,” Andy Fairless
The original Leazes Wing switchboard, with circuits being transferred.
The chiller section of the old switchboard still existing, with the new switchboard to the rear of the picture.
August 2020 Health Estate Journal 31
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